find difficult
avoir du mal àMany students find the advanced math problems difficult.
Beaucoup d'étudiants ont du mal avec les problèmes de maths avancés.
éprouver des difficultés à faire quelque chose
She finds it difficult to wake up early in the morning.
Elle a du mal à se réveiller tôt le matin.
I find the new software difficult to use.
Je trouve difficile d'utiliser le nouveau logiciel.
Used to express a subjective difficulty in performing an action. Often followed by an infinitive verb or a noun phrase.
Collocations
Conseil pro
Common Mistake
Avoid using 'find difficult' without an object or infinitive. Incorrect: 'I find difficult.' Correct: 'I find it difficult to concentrate.'
Règle d'or
Structure
The phrase is typically followed by 'it' + adjective + 'to' + verb, or a noun phrase directly (e.g., 'find the task difficult').
Origine du mot
The phrase combines the verb 'find' (Old English 'findan') with the adjective 'difficult' (from Latin 'difficultas', meaning 'difficulty'). The construction 'find + adjective + to-infinitive' emerged in Middle English.
Notes d'usage
Common in both spoken and written English. Often used to express personal difficulty rather than objective impossibility. Can be softened with 'quite' or 'rather' (e.g., 'I find it quite difficult').